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A dozen alleged gang members were indicted July 18, with five charged with first degree murder, which includes torture, for the June 20 death of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz and could face life in prison without parole. "Today's verdicts will not bring Junior back. Mr. Sueros trial is expected to start soon. The indicted are due back in court Oct. 25. Members of the Trinitarios gang were hunting for enemies in the Bronx last summer when they found a 15-year-old boy on his phone and walking alone. At 10:05 p.m., security footage shows Junior leaving home to meet his friend Jason Velez at this corner. His English was poor. Prosecutors say that Jonaiki Martinez gave the fatal stab, slashing Juniors neck. One man, identified by prosecutors as Jose Tavarez, enters the bodega and spots Junior. The referrals are a nice bonus too, Get to figuring your way around AI sooner rather than later, Enjoy. The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner announced the cause of death for slain teen Lesandro Guzman-Feliz. Photo Credit: Marisol Diaz-Gordon "It was just starting," he said. Five menSantiago Rodriguez, 24, Joniki Matinez, 24, Jose Muniz, 21, Danel Fernandez, 21, and Manuel Rivera, 18are currently on trial for the 2018 filmed murder. New surveillance footage shows the moments before and after Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz was brutally jumped and stabbed to death. The knife used to deliver the lethal blow to Lesandro Junior Guzman Feliz last June 20 went clear through the teens neck, causing him to bleed to death, the medical examiner, Dr. Sophia Rodriguez, testified. A Trinitarios ringleader, Diego Suero, issued the order to his minions, who then mistook Guzman-Feliz for a rival when they stabbed him to death outside a bodega June 20, 2018, cooperating witness and gang member Michael Sosa Reyes, 20, told Bronx Supreme Court jurors. "If they continue the violence in the city, theyre going to get the same thing. Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. He was then stabbed and hacked to death with machetes by several attackers after being mistakenly identified. Toni Messina has tried over 100 cases and has been practicing criminal law and immigration since 1990. (Obtained by New York Daily News ). All five defendants Antonio Santigo, Elvin Garcia, Manuel Rivera, Estrella and Muniz were members of the Trinitarios gang. He believed hed found a place to belong. The desperate teenager tried to hide inside of a bodega, but the gang members dragged him from the store and stabbed him to death as security cameras recorded the gruesome scene. Mr. Suero had warned his members to carry a weapon at all times and said if they saw a rival member to do whatever possible to hurt the Sunset member, Mr. Alvarez said. As one defense counsel said in his summation, the biggest obstacle in this case for defendants was not the facts, it was the anger and the desire for retribution., The video of the killing was released to social media only hours after Juniors death. A dozen people appeared in court facing charges related to the death of 15-year-old Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, who was killed in the Bronx. (No one claims responsibility.) They carried weapons for two reasons for their own protection and to use them to hurt (not kill) a Sunset. The only injury that caused Juniors death was clearly the neck wound. But Reyes told the court that he couldnt follow through with Sueros order after looking Junior in the face. Its alleged that defendant Jonaiki Martinez Estrella plunged the knife into Juniors neck near the end of the 20-second attack. Theodore Parisienne for The New York Times. Several of the gang members got out of the cars and surrounded Lesandro, asking him questions. When the attackers walk in, the worker points out where Junior is hiding, and he gets dragged outof the store. The teen reportedly bled to death steps from the emergency room. The 2-year-old boy was shot around 12:16 p.m . Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said each of the . Just two days before Junior was killed, a 14-year-old was seriously injured in this attack. The defense team asked Dr. Rodriguez if any of these additional wounds contributed to the teens death. My client, age 18 (and nine months, as the prosecutor liked to remind jurors), had joined a dangerous gang, the Trinitarios, and without the benefit of his mother, left behind in the Dominican Republic, made some very poor decisions that will now land him in jail probably for the rest of his life. Its Wednesday, June 20. Heres How To Get Yours Right. Junior suffered multiple wounds to his face, back, chest, legs and hands. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Knitting, perhaps? She said it cut the bone that protects the spinal cord and left an exit wound on the other side of his neck. As Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a press conference following the verdict, Junior came to symbolize all of the young people who have lost their lives to brutal gang violence. Alvarez, who testified last week as a cooperating witness, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in a deal with Bronx prosecutors and is expected to serve no prison time. The murder of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, known as Junior, drew outrage across New York City. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Five other people have been arrested and accused of involvement in the crime. Stuck Drafting A Tough Brief? At 11:35, a security camera films four cars driving slowly past the stoop where Juniors friend and some others were sitting. The New York City Police Foundation announced it planned to set up a scholarship in his name. Join Nancy Grace for her new online video series designed to help you protect what you love most your children. Crime Scene Unit Det. Mr. Muniz rushed over wielding a machete while Mr. Garcia, Mr. Rivera and Mr. Rodriguez Hernandez Santiago stabbed at him with large knives, security camera video and other evidence showed. He was depicted in murals and online with a halo and angel wings. Their trial provided a glimpse inside the violent Trinitarios gang, whose members mistook 15-year-old Lesandro Junior Guzman-Feliz for a rival. It made the tragedy of his killing that much worse and convictions that much more guaranteed. There, leaders passed around cellphone pictures of various Sunset members and asked the returning soldiers to identify the person they stabbed. Join Nancy Grace and a team of world-class experts for the online course Justice Nation: Crime Stops Here. What Better Place To Network Than The Facebook Friends List? Five men approached, including Manuel, weapons in hand. Its horrific, defense attorney Kyle Watters said of his client, Estrella. "Justice for Junior" has become a rallying cry. We interviewed our tech expert, Jaime Vazquez, to learn more about accessible smart home devices. Surveillance video shows Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz being dragged from the Cruz and Chiky grocery store in the Bronx on June 20, 2018. ", "It was a terrible year, it felt like 10 years. The defense also tried to discredit Guzman-Feliz alleging he was in a gang photo a notion a detective who took the stand denied. Instead of turning to police, he turned to the Trinitarios, who like him, shared a Dominican heritage. THE BRONX As they rested their case in the "Junior" murder trial Friday, prosecutors turned to the medical examiner who performed the teen's autopsy, offering graphic detail of the wound that. That isgonna stick with this jury for the rest of the weekend, he says. A teenager hunted down and dragged from a New York City bodega, then swarmed by attackers outside. But he acted with intent to harm. Its 11:39. However, all 12 alleged gang members were indicted on second degree murder, manslaughter, conspiracy, gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon. But a leading police theory is the attackers mistakenly believed Junior was in a rival gang. Some Work Things Are Optional. It led to a clearer morality tale. Because he resisted their efforts to stab him does not diminish their intent.. No one, not prosecutors or police, wanted to admit, that Junior had gang connections. Police had seized the footage that night and it got leaked. The friend says they felt things were getting dicey and went inside. The worker again refuses to help. Oiwaka said Juniors clothes had to be repackaged the day after they were vouchered into evidence as the blood was soaking through the paper bags they had been stored in. If they did not participate, the lawyers said, they would have been disciplined. I saw he was scared, and he reminded me of a person that I had seen before, Reyes said, adding he felt very bad about the murder. Eight others are awaiting trial. They gathered outside of Mr. Sueros apartment building on Boston Road, where they smoked hookah and played music. The dad struggled to make a living and Manuel struggled in school. They pursued him in cars, mistaking the aspiring NYPD detective for a gangbanger because he supposedly resembled a known one. The cars then split up and appear to surround him. The jury, comprised of 11 women and one man, reached the verdict Friday after going into deliberations Thursday. The footage went viral and with it, rumor and speculation about why the 15-year-old boy known as Junior was singled out. If you have a machete, use the machete.. GRAPHIC: CCTV and bystanders filming with their phones captured the gruesome Bronx bodega machete stabbing murder of Lesandro 'Junior' Guzman by Trinitarios gang members. Defense lawyers for the four other defendants said in their closing arguments that the order from Mr. Suero had only been to injure a Sunset member, not to kill someone. People visit murder site to mourn the death of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz in Bronx in New York, United States on June 27, 2018. . The murder of Lesandro, who went by the nickname Junior, was well documented on videotape from security cameras and the cellphones of witnesses, providing prosecutors with hard proof to support their case. He was a skinny kid, just 120 pounds, 56 inches tall. Both times the worker refuses to help the young teen. There were gasps from the courtroom as Assistant District Attorney Morgan Dolan presented the graphic photos of Juniors wounds during the testimony of the prosecutions final witness. Todays verdict fortifies the Bronx communitys stand against violence., Lesandros mother, Leandra Feliz said, Im not going to have my son back, but those killers, those murderers, theyre not going to be outside killing another kid.. Nils Gerber and Stephen Ball, Stacks' attorneys, presented evidence and rested their case after about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Junior was spotted walking late at night in the Bronx neighborhood frequented by the Sunsets. Guzman-Feliz had been part of the NYPD's Explorers program, a group for youths interested in a law enforcement career. That order came during a bloody feud within the Trinitarios that had pitted Sunset, which is based in Brooklyn, against Mr. Sueros two Bronx sets, the witnesses said. She said she watched the attack from an apartment window and ran downstairs to try to help.
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